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Monday, June 11, 2012

DearREADERS,
During my lunch break today at Samford University's 2012 Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, I attended a press conference hosted by MyHeritage.com. They employed the use of GoToWebinar with a video component. We watched Gilad Japhat, CEO of MyHeritage, as he worked through his PowerPoint on a screen behind him on the wall. Find in this post:

Please describe the scope of the newspaper, perhaps in bibliographic format.

Gilad responded that the newspaper collection was largely US publications at this point.

My point? Serious genealogy researchers will want to know the newspaper titles, years of publications covered in the collection. Makes me wonder which large newspaper collections MyHeritage may have partnered with at this point.

OFFICIAL MY HERITAGE PRESS RELEASE

MyHeritage hits one billion profiles PROVO, Utah & LONDON & TEL AVIV, Israel – June 11, 2012: MyHeritage,
the most popular family network on the web, today announced that it has
reached the milestone of one billion profiles. The billion individuals
in nearly 23 million family trees, created by the millions of families
using MyHeritage worldwide, constitute a gigantic network for
discovering family heritage and connecting to relatives.

With
more than 63 million registered users, MyHeritage has become the
trusted home on the web for families wishing to explore their family
history, share memories and stay connected. Combining the world’s
largest international pool of family tree data with billions of
historical records, MyHeritage helps break through brick walls in family
history research. The site is available in 38 languages.Approximately
one million profiles are added every day to the MyHeritage network, and
on average 600 thousand new registered users join every month. A
sophisticated technology called Smart Matching™ fuels new family
discoveries by matching profiles in different family trees, creating new
family connections every day for users.

“Reaching
one billion profiles is an important milestone in the prolific growth
of MyHeritage, solidifying our position as the international go-to
destination for families,” said Founder and CEO of MyHeritage, Gilad
Japhet. “We constantly strive to develop cutting-edge technologies that
create a network effect within this big data resource. As more content
is uploaded to MyHeritage by our users around the world, they discover
more family connections and relevant historical documents, adding color
and depth to their family history. With a billion profiles and some
exciting new innovations in store, we look forward to continuing our
phenomenal growth in the coming years.”

Approximately
half of the billion family tree profiles on MyHeritage are living
people, enabling users to connect to relatives, collaborate on family
history research and share memories. The other half billion profiles who
are deceased help connect the living through shared ancestors. With a
diverse user base, spanning every country and continent, MyHeritage
represents a gateway to a massive variety of family histories from
different cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds.

The
company’s expansion into historical content, following its acquisition
of family history sites WorldVitalRecords and FamilyLink in November
2011 and its April 2012 announcement to provide the 1940 U.S. Census
free of charge, has turned MyHeritage into a leading site for family
history research, whilst continuing in parallel its focus on current-day
family engagement. The MyHeritage mobile app,
launched in December 2011, enables families to share special everyday
moments and explore their family history all-on-the-go, and has amassed
more than 750 thousand installations already.

Protecting
the privacy of users and their family trees, information on living
people is not disclosed and collaboration on family tree research is by
invitation only.

About MyHeritageMyHeritage
is the most popular family network on the web. On MyHeritage, millions
of families around the world enjoy having a private and free place to
explore their history and share special family memories. Pioneers in
making family history a collaborative experience for all the family,
MyHeritage empowers its users with a innovative social tools and a
massive library of historical content. The site is available in 38
languages. The company is backed by Accel Partners and Index Ventures,
the investors of Facebook and Skype. For more information visit www.myheritage.com.